Alistair Darling hits out at Goodwin and ‘arrogant and stupid bankers’

Alistair Darling has reportedly labelled bankers in the 2008 crash as âarrogant and stupidâ, and attacked former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Sir Fred Goodwin as acting like someone ‘off to play golf’.

The former chancellor, who has also commented on the roles of former Cabinet colleagues Gordon Brown, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband in his memoirs, was highly critical of the roles of several individuals in the financial crisis.

He also reveals how he came close to sacking the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King.

The claims are in the Labour Uncut blog, which claims to have extracts from Mr Darlingâs memoirs â called Back From The Brink: 1,000 Days At No 11.

Mr Darling, Labour chancellor from 2007 to 2010, has apparently written that Sir Fred âdeserved to be a pariahâ for refusing at first to give up his pension after taking his bank to the brink of collapse.

The bankerâs attitude to the crisis was in keeping with someone âoff to play a game of golfâ, according to the extracts.

âMy worry is that they [bankers] were so arrogant and stupid they might bring us all down,â Mr Darling is said to have written.